He Gives People Hope
by HumanBarricade
Summary: Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is just swinging along until he notices something a little odd, a guy on top of a building. He decides to watch and see what will happen. Set in TASM2 universe.


This is it. All I've ever wanted is right in front of me.

I can feel the bone-chilling wind slicing through my jacket. Soon that won't matter. Soon I'll be dead.

Cautiously I approach the edge of the building. Maybe this isn't the best method considering my fear of heights, but… My stomach sinks from just looking down at the street below. I shake my head and sharply turn away.

No, I have to do this. It'll be better this way. I'm just a burden to everyone.

Something inside my pocket buzzes. A tear burns down my left cheek as I read a text from my girlfriend, Sara. It reads: _Jack, I'm so sorry I cheated. Maybe it's time to see new people._

"Ha! Fuck you, too," I yell with a fake smile as I throw the phone to the ground at my feet.

Well that definitely settles it. First it was my mom and her stupid boyfriend, then my brother, my friends, and now my girlfriend, too. Screw them all. I don't need to take another day of their shit.

I tug at the collar of my jacket and pull it up around my ears and nose. "God, it's freezing out here."

Going back over to the ledge still terrifies me. I take a few steps, stand up on the ledge, and close my eyes. No need to chicken out. My heart, beaten and sore, quickens its pace. I then tilt my head up to the sky and stretch out my arms. My eyelids drearily open so that I may see the night sky one final time.

Even through all the artificial reds and yellows down below I can still see the icy blue stars and their moon. A gust of wind gently pushes me and I lean into it. I can already taste death in mouth.

Then I fall.

My eyes squeeze shut as I regret it all. What the hell have I just done?

The wind freezes me entirely. My stomach feels like it's going to burst out of me. I fear the impact.

Something suddenly knocks the breath out of me as it jerks me towards a different direction. Half of my torso feels like it has been slapped.

I also realize the following: I'm not dead.

I can feel someone's arm binding around my torso. It hurts, but I think it's better than splatting against the pavement. Maybe if I wasn't such a wuss when it comes to heights I would peek to see who my rescuer is.

Soon enough we land somewhere and he sets me down on the ground. My whole body is shaking, both from the cold and fear.

"Are you alright?" I hear him ask.

First I open one eye to make sure I really am alive, then the other once I'm sure. As I rub my ribcage I curse under my breath from the pain. Then I look up to see him.

"Spider-Man?!" I say in a skeptical yet amazed way.

"Yes."

He just stares down at me as I try to take it all in. I bet he thinks I'm a real nut. Trying to jump off of a building…ugh, not the smartest thing I ever did.

"Sorry about that, I shouldn't have been so careless," I lie as I stand up.

He hands me my now cracked cell phone and states, "You could've died."

I hold it and stare into its blank screen reflecting my pathetic-looking face. My hands begin to shake uncontrollably as I sob and I end up dropping it.

"I wanted to…" I mumble through my sobbing.

He takes a couple steps towards me. I try to wipe off my tears but my jacket sleeve just spreads them all over my face. Why am I so hopelessly stupid?

"Why?" he asks genuinely curious while cautiously putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Haven't you ever been in a low point in your life where you just wanted to kill yourself?" I spit more harshly than I intended.

My hand covers my mouth to prevent me from sounding like even more of an asshole. This is so embarrassing. He remains speechless for a while, probably shocked at my question.

"No," he finally replies. "I don't think I've ever had the time to feel sorry for myself. I'm too busy fighting villains, saving people, and all that hero stuff. Leading this kind of life doesn't exactly leave room for those kinds of thoughts."

All I can manage to say is, "Oh."

Damn, of course he wouldn't. I stare down at my feet. I can't tell when he's looking me in the eyes so I decide to avoid the chance he is entirely. The wind still chills me and I sniffle.

After searching for words he asks, "I don't mean to pry, but what caused you to jump?"

"So many very stupid and petty things," I reply zipping up my coat. "I thought it'd be easier just to end it all, but…god, it all seems so dumb now."

He picks up my phone, again, and puts it into my pocket then asks, "I didn't hurt you too bad when I caught you, did I?"

"It stung," I reply with a half-smile. "But it could have been worse."

Something beeps and Spider-Man looks at a watch on his wrist. He silences it and looks back at me. Crap, if he needs to save the city or something…

"I don't mean to keep you. If there's something you have to do-" I start, awkwardly gripping at my coat since it has no pockets.

"It's nothing important," he interrupts waving his hand dismissively. "Do you need help getting home?"

If there's anywhere I need to go home is not it. Sharing an apartment with my brother has been hell for the past few weeks. As soon as I walk through the door he'll butcher me.

"Ugh…I can't go home," I reply avoiding eye contact. "My brother will kill me if I come home this late."

"Is there anywhere else you can go?" Spider-Man asks.

"No, I guess not," I sigh as my foot kicks a small pebble on the ground. "Would you mind walking me to the door? I think it'd scare him."

I kind of smirk thinking of my brother pissing himself as he sees Spider-Man. He'd be too scared to mess with me anymore.

"Yeah, it might," he says in a concerned way. "Do you think he's worried about you?"

Josh being worried about me? I…I never thought about that. No, that asshole practically beats me up every day. Unless he's just messing around and I'm interpreting it as hate.

"I don't know," I say coldly. "But if anyone is it _should _be him."

* * *

Spider-Man walks me to the apartment complex, which lucky me is just several blocks from where I tried to end myself. We get some weird stares from people on the street. It makes my day when the landowner sees him walk me in. I want to laugh, but I'm still in a shitty mood from earlier.

After walking up a couple flights of stairs, since the elevator is being fixed, and a few doors down the hallway we finally come to my shared apartment. It reads 317 on a painted plaque.

"This is mine," I say rubbing my arm.

I really don't want to knock. Josh is going to yell at me, I know it. Slowly I form my hand into a fist and raise it to the door. Then I chicken out and let my hand fall limp at my side.

"Do you want me to knock?" Spider-Man asks gesturing at the door.

"Sure," I say, voice quivering.

He makes a fist and firmly knocks on the door. I look around the hallway and don't see anyone. They must all be asleep by now.

I hear stirring in the apartment and then some angry footsteps. The door is thrust open to reveal a very pissed off and sleepy Josh in his sweat pants. He rubs his eyes and yawns.

"Jack! Is that you-?" he begins until he notices Spider-Man. "Whoa, ugh…Hi?"

"Hi," Spider-Man waves back. "This is your brother, Jack, right?"

Josh, dumbstruck and all that, looks over at me and back at Spider-Man. I realize that my tears covering my face didn't quite dry up yet as I touch my cheek. Man I must look like a mess.

"Yes. Is he okay? Did he do something?" he starts, probably thinking I tried to rob a bank obviously.

"He's…" Spider-Man looks over at me. "A little shaken, but I believe he's alright."

Josh puts his hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eyes. I want to hug him, but I'm afraid he'll just push me away like he did before.

"Jack, what happened to you? You've been gone for three hours," he says a little franticly.

"I don't want to talk about it," I spit and look away from him.

"Jack, please tell me what happened. I'm responsible for you. If mom found out I lost you then-," he tries to say.

"She wouldn't give a shit!" I yell and start to sob. "And neither do you."

He firmly grips my shoulders and pulls me into a hug. I just stand there completely dazed. My brother hugging me just seemed so impossible.

"We both care about you," he says letting me out of the hug. "_Especially_ me, so please please tell me what happened."

God, he looks genuinely concerned. I really do want to tell him, but I'm scared of where that will lead.

"I tried to kill myself," I tell him bluntly.

Josh's jaw gapes open. He stares at me in disbelief then looks over at Spider-Man as if expecting him to say I lied. Spider-Man just stands there looking at us and scratches the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry," I add.

"No, you're obviously not," he shouts with tears welling up in his eyes. "I can't believe you sometimes. Did you even think about mom or me? About how that would have affected us?"

"What about me?!" I shout back, pushing his hands off me. "You all hate me."

He stares at me, probably hurt by my actions. I don't care. Maybe I want him to hurt for once instead.

"Jack, I know we can be hard on you, but we mean well. I'm doing my best. At least I didn't leave you like dad did. At least I stick around while mom is flakey. I know I'm not the best goddamn brother ever, but I swear that I do my best. I care about you, okay?" he explains to me. "And I'm so grateful you didn't come home to me in a casket."

I'm speechless. What kind of asshole have I become? Of course they care about me. They expect me to know that.

"Did you hurt yourself?" he asks gesturing towards me.

"My side is a little sore from Spider-Man saving me, but I'll live," I reply feeling my ribcage.

I whimper because, as expected, it hurts like a son of a gun. Josh glances over at Spider-Man then back at me.

"Saving you? Wait, did you jump off a building?" he asks grabbing my shoulders again.

"Yes," I admit staring down at my feet.

"You actually jumped off and were falling?" he asks tilting my head back up so he can look me in the eyes.

"Yes," I say again.

I feel a tear roll down my cheek. Once again he pulls me into a hug. I hear him cry a little, and then take a deep breath.

"I'm sorry if I acted like I hated you," he says quietly.

I hug him back, arms shaking, and say, "I'm sorry for being an ass."

Josh lets go of me again and I can see tears painted down his face. He quickly wipes them away. I look over at Spider-Man and smile.

"Thank you for saving me," I say while waving at him.

"You're welcome. Will you two be okay?" he asks still a bit concerned.

"We'll be okay," I reply as Josh waves to Spider-Man.

"Take care of each other," he says before he walks down the stairs and disappears.

I turn back to face Josh. He gestures for me to go inside. As I walk in he puts his hand on my shoulder and closes the door.

"Should I go to school tomorrow?" I ask standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"You don't have to. We should definitely talk to mom tomorrow, though," he replies while trying to lead me to my room. "You should get to bed."

"I know, but I don't think I can sleep," I say looking over my shoulder at him.

There's no way that after getting broken up with, attempting suicide, getting saved by Spider-Man, and getting hugged (twice) by my brother am I going to sleep tonight. No matter how tired I may be my brain will be too busy comprehending and processing all of this.

"Please try," he begs. "I have to work tomorrow and, as much as I want to stay here with you, they'll be pissed and possibly fire me if I don't show up."

"I understand," I say as I reach the door to my bedroom.

"Jack," he says touching my shoulder. "You know I want to help you get through this."

"I know," I say trying to reassure him.

He smiles and rubs the hair on my head.

"Good, now I need to try to sleep," he says and goes into his room.

Strangely he doesn't close the door. Maybe it's to make sure I don't try to leave. I won't leave.

My bed has never looked so inviting. I sit down on it and take off my jacket. Carefully I take off my shirt to see a bruise on my side from Spider-Man saving me. It hurts at the slightest touch so I lie down on the opposite side.

Just from all the thoughts in my head, I know it's going to be a long night.


End file.
